President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the beleaguered National Security Agency told lawmakers on Tuesday that Edward Snowden has placed lives at risk by leaking classified information, but stopped short of calling him a traitor.

Vice Adm. Michael Rogers told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that Snowden caused significant damage by releasing information about the NSA’s surveillance programs, but when asked by Sen. Joe Machin, a West Virginia Democrat, whether he viewed Snowden as a traitor, Rogers said, “I don't know that I would use the word ‘traitor.’ But I certainly do not consider him to be a hero.”

Rogers also would not categorize the damage Snowden’s revelations have caused as “irreparable,” but was clear in condemning the former contractor.

Rogers further pledged that he would emphasize transparency and accountability if confirmed to lead the NSA.

“We have to ensure strict accountability on the part of the National Security Agency.” he said. “We have to make sure that we do in fact follow those processes appropriately and that when we make a mistake, if we fail to meet those requirements, that we're very upfront about the how and why.”

On Monday, Snowden appeared via video uplink at South by Southwest from Russia, where he has been granted temporary asylum.

In his remarks, he defended his actions, saying, “I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. And I saw the Constitution was being violated on a massive scale.”

Snowden also turned the tables on current and former NSA directors Keith Alexander and Michael Hayden, who he said were the real enemies of security.

“[Alexander and Hayden] have harmed our Internet security and actually our national security,” said Snowden, “because so much of our country's economic success is based on our intellectual property. It's based on our ability to create, and share, and communicate, and compete.”

soundoff(41 Responses)

We hope to see more written concerning the investigation of the Los Vegas shootings. All hands on deck ! Every American citizen across the country wants the truth, facts and answers. "National Narrative Fishy." Trey Dowdy, FBI Director. Thankyou !

Snowden is a cowardly traitor, who should be treated as such. If he really is the crusader he claims to be, will he speak out against Russian aggression in the crimea? Will he address human rights issues in Russia? This seems more serious than the NSA knowing that you like looking at online porn.

Since when is Russia our problem?? Our government can't even take care of our country yet you're worried about Russia? Why are we sending $3 Bil to Ukraine when we can't even feed or care for our own nation?

The British called S. Adams, G. Washington, B. Franklin, T. Jefferson and all the members of congress traitors and terrorist. Now you call Snowden a traitor, he is in good company. That kid through away a 5 figure income to expose NASA, he's the patorit! What kind of government listens to your phone calls, monitors the internet, keeps taps on your bank account and brings war on it's people? The US governemnet does, I should've joined the weathermen in the seventies, instead of the USAF. Had I known what my governement was was going to become, I WOULD HAVE!

Nomatte what most of you think this man is a traitor. Lets hope h stays in Russia, since relatons kind of tense, he n be in a bad postion. I think they should keep him. He is Traitor, not a whistle blower, if he was a whistle blower he would never have lleft US soil he knew he was wrong.

If he would have reporting the wrongdoing to the correct office, nothing would have happened to him and he would have been protected under the whistleblower protection act, but he instead went to a foreign country with information about the NSA's spying on the American people, but also legitimate spying on other countries, that is the definition of treason.

Since when did reporting wrongdoing in the government become Treason????? You guys sound like you would have turned Paul Revere in as a traitor. There was a reason Kennedy took away the powers of the CIA. They were corrupt and acting as if they were above the law.........we have the same type of people in those positions now......corrupt piles of manure that ought to be thrown in prison!

March 16, 2014 at 4:57 pm |

Rich

Snowden was the one person who finally did something about it. There were several people in higher positions in the NSA that attempted to follow protocol and did the whistleblowing by the book. Their computer equipment was confiscated by the FBI and their security clearances were revoked. Their careers were ended........because they attempted to do the right thing. Snowden knew what had happened to them.....and reacted accordingly. Where can you go when everything in your country is being censored????? I personally (and many other techies) knew about the whole SUPERCOMPUTER thing long before Snowden blew his horn. I was posting You-Tube videos about this waaaay back in 2008-2009.......when they first started their spying they were very incompetent.......and it was easy for a techie to figure out what was going on. The fool is not Snowden....the fool is YOU!

Several others? who were they? ..... one or more would have gone to the media after failing to make headway.

No....Snowden probably was a Wikileaks plant from the start.....he was certainly no Paul Revere.

He ran to HK because Snowden and his handlers had thought they could get him a much better job there and drum up global sympathy for their leader in exile. this had Nothing to do with helping the American people...think about the information he leaked and who know how many people he compromised.

March 19, 2014 at 2:21 pm |

Gop USa

He deserves nothing but a rope and a tree to hang him with, he deserves a traitors death

cnn, fox, msnbc, every major corporate network sold war via WMD's and all were proved fools, no that's not right, propagandists. The corporate pravda media won't allow truth, only war for profit propaganda. No wonder they want Snow'mans head, he exposes them all as liars for a cause, the cause of war, murder, death and bloodshed all for profit.

After the United States Revolutionary War ended in 1783, brave and patriotic citizens continued to serve in the military and bravely sacrificed their lives in 19 more wars. 19 more wars, all of which occurred in foreign countries with the exception of the War of 1812, and the Civil War and American Indian Wars when we turned our guns upon our own people.

And in the U.S., we sit with our eyes blankly staring and with our mouths agape every 4th of July and say, "ooh and aah" as we again celebrate our “bombs bursting in air.”

In the U.S., almost from birth we are taught to sing our National Anthem written, of course, about and during a war, the War of 1812.

In the U.S., almost since birth we sing most loudly, always in unison and cheer as fighter jets perform low flybys.

In the U.S., we sing about “the perilous fight” and “rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air.”

In the U.S., our majority of citizens require or pressure even our youngest children to promise to obey our government which is after all, the same when we "Pledge Allegiance to the Flag.”

And the media complies and parrots the leaders’ sensational indoctrination, but the reasons for increasing media collusion and complicity with the leaders are far more sinister than mere compliance.

And the sinister complicity and collusion between the media and leaders of nations, movements and religions have been orchestrated to further indoctrinate the malleable masses.

And the complicity and collusion have been orchestrated to provide fears so the malleable masses self-justify and endorse our leaders' competing and expanding political influences and territories and economic power by using, or threatening to use, their modernizing military strength and invisible weapons.

And our majority of citizens only parrot to others that U.S. global military strength and expansionism and weapons productions and weapons sales will make us safer when instead the opposite is surely true.

And even our most patriotic and brave soldiers will not be able to protect us from our foreign blunders.

March 12, 2014 at 9:29 am |

smyth annony

ratical(dot)org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html#c1
" CHAPTER ONE

War Is A Racket

WAR is a racket. It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.

How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?

Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few - the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill. "

Snowden has never attended any training, formal or informal, regarding national security, intelligence operations, foreign affairs, or leadership.

He has never held a position higher than computer analyst.

Why would anyone listen to his recommendations regarding the national debate on national-security requirements and privacy?

Oh, I forgot....Snowden is a fugitive felon who violated numerous laws regarding disclosure of classified information, theft of government property, and espionage. So, I guess that makes him a renown expert.

it takes guts, balls, brains, to do what Snowden did. And the majority of Americans agree with him, and are grateful that the National Secrecy Agency (NSA) has been exposed. Imagine where our privacy would be without his actions.

Whether you agree with Snowden or not, there is no question that he has brought a lot of important discussions to the forefront that may have not been revealed outside of the security and tech community for some time. I am undecided myself but feel its better to be informed on what is being said so I tuned into the live stream from SXSW and we took note of the key takeaways from Snowden's side of the story: http://www.asecurelife.com/edward-snowden-speaks-at-sxsw-2014/

CNN welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the Rules of Conduct set forth in our Terms of Service. Comments are not pre-screened before they post. You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service.

Search Security Clearance

Share this blog

About this blog

CNN's Security Clearance examines national and global security, terrorism and intelligence, as well as the economic, military, political and diplomatic effects of it around the globe, with contributions from CNN's national security team in Washington and CNN journalists around the world.